New Republican House Sets Date for Obamacare Repeal Vote

The new Republican majority isn't set to take over the House of
Representatives until Wednesday, but it has already set a date for its
first order of business: repealing President Obama's health-care reform law. Although the new House is expected to vote on the repeal bill on January 12, the Democrat-led Senate isn't quite ready to let go of Obamacare without a fight. According to The Hill,
top Senate Democrats "wrote incoming House Speaker John Boehner
(R-Ohio) on Monday warning the new GOP House against advancing
legislation that would undo the sweeping healthcare overhaul."

The
announcement of the vote has solicited mixed reactions, both from
bloggers who praise the GOP's initiative to start the new Congress off
by fulfilling one of its major promises, and those who regard
the move as insignificant.

What Will Repeal Accomplish?Austin Frakt
at The Incidental Economist suggests that the Republicans' attempt to
repeal health care reform is "dead on arrival" because it doesn't offer
a sufficient alternative to the current plan. "The only thing I oppose
is debate without substance. If anyone wants to be taken seriously on
health care (or anything) they’ve got to do the work, all of it," he
argues. "Democrats did so and they got a law passed and enacted. It's
not perfect, but it is an improvement over the status quo. Can
Republicans make it better? It takes more than repeal."

This Vote Means A Lot The Weekly Standard's Jeffrey H. Anderson
rejects the idea that the January 12 vote is simply "symbolic," arguing,
instead, that the House of Representative's initiative "reflects the
dsires of the vast majority of Americans," and the repeal's failure
could prompt that majority to elect a new president in the next
election. He writes:

If the Democratically controlled Senate
continues to turn a deaf ear to the citizenry and refuses to advance
the House’s legislation, or if the Senate finally listens and advances
it to the president, who vetoes it, then that too will be
substantive--and the American people will have a clear choice in 2012.

Dems Need to Fight Back Joan McCarter
at liberal Daily Kos suspects some "mischief" in the Republicans' plan to
repeal the Affordable Care Act and urges Democrats to fight back. "This
should be a no-brainer for Dems--turn the Republicans' tactics around
on them and force them to take painful votes," suggests McCarter. "Make
them vote against the popular measures within the reform package. It's
not a particularly 'bipartisan' or 'civil' approach to politics, but
look where civility has gotten us so far."

The Repeal Vote as an Election Strategy Legal Insurrection blogger William Jacobson
thinks the Senate's refusal to pass the health care repeal is no excuse
for the House not to vote on it. "There are several vulnerable
Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2012," Jacobson points out. "Make them vote on repeal of Obamacare as an entirety, and in pieces.
And the run the advertisements early and often."

The 112th Congress Getting off on the Wrong Foot Liberal Steve Benen
at Washington Monthly believes the House Republicans' decision to make
repealing Obamacare its top priority of the new Congress is "pointless,
shameless pandering to their extremist base" that will actually benefit
no one. He explains:

After all, with their first big
initiative after retaking the majority, House Republicans will vote to
increase the deficit, raise taxes on small businesses, force vulnerable
seniors to pay thousands of additional out-of-pocket dollars for their
medication, and allow insurers to discriminate against children with
pre-existing conditions, among other things.